


The Fantastic Five

by LiveLifeInsideADream



Category: Fantastic 4, Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007), Fantastic Four (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Changing POV, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Romance, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLifeInsideADream/pseuds/LiveLifeInsideADream
Summary: Josephine Winter is an aerospace engineer with a proclivity for extreme sports. She loves her life. But when things go wrong on a space expedition with her old CO, Ben Grimm, everything she loves about her life is taken away from her. Now, she has to navigate this new - very public - world. At least she's not alone.
Relationships: Ben Grimm/Alicia Masters, Johnny Storm/Original Character(s), Johnny Storm/Original Female Character(s), Reed Richards/Susan Storm, Reed Richards/Susan Storm (Fantastic Four)
Kudos: 2





	1. Josephine Winter

CHAPTER ONE

**Josephine Winter**

The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close, but an excited buzz hummed through the crowd that was gathered round the dusty motocross track in upstate New York. Dozens of brightly coloured motorcycles raced the winding course as heavy bass music pumped from a hefty sound system that stood in-between some rickety-looking bleachers, a young man dressed in shorts stood atop them, microphone in hand as he commented wildly on the current race: “Fuck me! Rory Sampson on thirty-six pulled a risky manoeuvre there, but it appears to have paid off! He’s pulled out ahead of the cluster.”

Reed Richards and Ben Grimm cheered along with the rest of the crowd, although Ben had no idea who he was cheering for – extreme sports weren’t really his bag. He was here often enough to support Jo, though, so that when he’d entered the race track today with Reed, several people had waved and called him over to say hello. He’d known Jo for a long time now – seven years to be exact – since she was a fresh-faced cadet at NASA and he’d been her commanding officer. She was a good friend. Meeting up every Friday for a beer with Reed, Sue, Jo, Debbie, and a couple others had been the highlight of his week ... Ben missed those days – part of him believed that they all did.

Behind Ben and Reed, a burger truck had just pulled up and the smell of sizzling sausage and fried onion wafted up Ben’s nose. God, he was starving. He looked at his watch and thought hard – it was close to dinner and Debbie would have something ready for him back home, but one hot-dog wouldn’t kill his appetite...

“Come on,” said Ben and he beckoned Reed to follow him. “Let’s grab something to eat. I don’t think Jo’s up for a few minutes yet.”

While he waited for his order, Reed started to fidget beside him, pulling at his jacket and repeatedly checking his watch.

“What?” asked Ben.

Reed stared at him strangely for a moment before he spoke. 

“Do you think she’ll agree?”

“Course she will,” said Ben as he took his food from the vendor. “Do you really think Jo – a woman who lives, eats, and breathes aero-mechanics – would turn down something like this?”

“She probably has a better job lined up.”

“Well, I happen to know she doesn’t, and if she does, she’ll drop it in a heartbeat for us.”

“Right,” said Reed, examining his hot-dog.

Ben sighed; he’d stand by this guy through anything, but he could be hard-work.

Hot-dog in hand, Ben started back towards the bleachers, Reed trailing along behind him.

“Which one is she?”

“Number thirteen,” said Ben as he scanned over the couple dozen dirt bikes waiting impatiently on the starting line. “There she is! Come on, you’ll want a good seat for this.”

Thirty brightly coloured motorcycles vibrated loudly at the starting gate, riders egging each other on as they all took turns revving the clutch of their vehicle. Ben sat impatiently in the bleachers – hot-dog forgotten in his hand. Every race he felt the same: a mixture of excitement at the fun of watching Jo hurtle round the track, kicking every guy in her class’s ass, and dread for the fear of watching Jo hurtle round the track, risking life and limb for this stupid sport. He was always glad when it was over.

A hush had fallen over the crowd as the commentator had named the participants of the race, but the noise had been replaced with what sounded like a stalling aeroplane as all the riders began to spur their engines on as one. The energy was almost too much to bare for Ben as it pressed down so hard on his chest that he could almost scream.

Then a high-pitched horn sounded from the commentator’s stand and the motorcycles were quiet. Only for a moment though, as the gate promptly dropped with a loud crash and the riders were off.

Ben leapt to his feet with another cheer, Reed following suit a moment later.

“That’s an excellent start from Rodriguez and Jackson!” exclaimed the commentator. “And there’s Winter, keeping pace just behind.”

Travelling at speeds close to eighty miles per hour, Ben could see Jo quickly pulling ahead of the group with three other riders, all of them hitting the corners and taking the humps with what appeared to be great ease. While the rest of the riders fell behind and became scattered throughout the track, Jo and her adversaries stuck close together.

“It’s gonna take some gumption to pull ahead of this grouping: Winter, Rodriguez, Jackson, and Harris. Numbers thirteen, seven, twenty-two, and sixteen. Some of our best racers, everyone. Yeah, this is gonna be a challenge.”

The commentator had spoken too soon. As the cluster of four took the next turn, one of the bikes couldn’t quite hold it and spun off of the track at neck-breaking speed. They couldn’t stop.

“There goes Harris. Holy shit!”

The bike had carried on spinning, rider firmly attached, until a ditch had blocked their path and sent them flying into oblivion. Harris was no longer visible. It was up to the commentator to reassure the frantic crowd.

“Paramedics are running to him now … and he’s standing! He’s alright, folks!”

Every person stood in the bleachers cheered, the outburst of emotion relieving some of the pressure that Ben felt building up inside of his body. He blew out a puff of air. Thank God that hadn’t been Jo.

“Rodriguez is falling behind a bit, now; Harris’s fall has definitely shaken him. Winter and Jackson take the lead!”

For two more circuits, ‘Winter and Jackson’ were neck-and-neck. Ben didn’t know how either of them could push the other back and there was only two laps left of the race.

“This is actually quite exciting,” said Reed, he looked like a kid at Christmas as he watched the motorcycles fly around the track.

“It’s not over yet, Reed.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Jo’s bike since the race began. Every race was always worse than the last. Jo had gone too long without any accidents and Ben was getting nervous. The odds were beginning to stack against her.

“Woah, woah, woah,” said the commentator. “What’s going on there? Jackson’s drifting a bit too close to Winter for my liking–”

Suddenly, Jo swerved her bike off to the side and crashed straight into one of the track barriers, flew over the handles of her motorcycle, and landed on her back in the dirt. Ben could see her body moving as if in a fit, her hand held up in front of her helmet. She’d been winded badly by the fall.

“Jesus!” screeched the commentator. “That was a dirty trick from Jackson! You’ve lost my backing, son … looks like Winter is out. Come on, Rodriguez! We’re counting on you now!”

The crowd booed and hissed at the moving blur that was Jackson.

“That has to be a foul! Disqualify him!” shouted Reed, fists in the air. “He can be disqualified, can’t he?”

Ben barely heard Reed’s question. If it was possible, steam would have been rushing out of his ears. “The fucking bastard; I’ll pound him into the ground when I get my hands on him.”

But Jo wasn’t going to be defeated that easily. From his place in the bleachers, he saw Jo jump to her feet and grab her bike. She mounted it quickly and flew back onto the track – Rodriguez just in front of her.

“Remind me never to piss that woman off!” said the commentator, laughing. “She’s coming up to speeds of a hundred miles per hour; Jackson won’t be able to stay ahead for long.”

He was right. Jo was gaining dangerously fast on Jackson’s number twenty-two bike. But as she came up behind him, she began to slow and match his speed, swerving side-to-side. Ben could see Jackson’s helmet turning every which way as he tried to get a gauge on where Jo was and Ben’s anger began to fade as he enjoyed the game that his friend was playing. He may not have liked the danger this sport presented, but he loved it when he and his friends could get their own back on the people who fucked them over.

After a few seconds of playing with her prey, Jo finally went in for the kill. She drove up closer to Jackson’s bike and into his blind-spot – Jackson still trying to figure out where she was – and revved her engine as loudly as possible.

It worked.

Jackson was startled enough that he flicked the handlebars of his bike a little too much and lost his balance. He managed to keep upright, but it was too late – his bike had fallen off of the track and Jo was flying ahead of him, Rodriguez close behind her.

“And Jo Winter is our winner!” the commentator shouted. “What a show! And Rodriguez in second! Worthy winners, I say!”

The crowd erupted into deafening screams and applaud.

“Come on,” said Ben. “Let’s go see her.”

He chose to ignore Reed’s sudden apprehensive expression. 

Ben watched happily as the number thirteen bike rode quickly to the holding zone, Rodriguez’s number seven bike close at her side. They appeared to be chatting as they dismounted and removed their helmets.

His friend was decked out head to toe in protective leather – shiny black jacket, trousers, and gloves – that was stained with dirt and covered in brown dust. Her face was made-up casually and her long brown hair was pulled back into a high pony-tail. She stood tall and proud after her win, but there was something in the way she held herself … as if she didn’t have a care in the world, yet her ice-blue eyes moved quickly over everything around her. It was almost like she’d spent so much time on her motorcycle that checking her surroundings for potential collisions had become second-nature.

“Jo! Over here!” called Ben.

His friend looked around at the sound of her name and smiled brilliantly when she saw Ben; Reed standing just behind him. She spoke to Rodriguez a moment longer, shook his hand, and then started making her way over.

“Reed!” she shouted, jogging up and enveloping the scientist in a very dusty hug. “How long’s it been?”

“Nearly a year, I think,” said Reed, smiling shyly.

“Oh, wow, it has been awhile, then,” she pulled away from Reed with a smile and gestured back to the bleachers. They all moved to take a seat.

“When are you gonna be done with all this?” asked Ben, laughing, but every week he still wished he’d get a call from Jo telling him not to bother coming to the track because she’d gotten bored with racing and was going to find a less life-threatening hobby – like scrapbooking.

“Not for a while yet, Ben,” she said, rolling her eyes with a bored smile. “You have a good time, Reed?”

“Actually, yes,” he said. “It was really quite thrilling.”

Jo laughed. Ben despaired.

“See! If Reed can get into this, Ben, you should too! You should come again, Reed – if you want, that is?”

“Thank you, I think I will.”

Ben glared at Reed. He’d been relying on this famously risk-free man to help him knock some sense into his young friend.

“So, what’s this proposal you have for me? Ben refused to tell me anything when he called.”

“I’ve been conducting research into the possibility that a high-energy cosmic cloud born on solar winds–”

“Keep it simple, Reed,” Ben interrupted.

“Yes ... well...” Reed stuttered. Ben could almost see the cogs turning in Reed’s head as he searched for the right words to dumb down his experiment.

“I believe that early on in our history there was a cosmic storm which potentially triggered the evolution of early planetary life. In a few months, a similar cloud will pass the earth’s orbit. This is an excellent chance to study how the cloud affected the structure of the human genome – our DNA – and that knowledge could be the key to curing diseases, making us stronger and healthier, and extending human life.” Reed looked nervously at the both of them. “What do you think?”

“Sounds pretty brilliant,” said Jo, quickly pressing her hands to Reed’s shoulders. “I take it Ben will be piloting? So, what? You want me along for maintenance?”

“Yes,” said Reed as he reached for his satchel. “But I’ll also want your help. Some of the equipment I’ve developed is a bit temperamental; I’ll need someone with a moderate understanding of the mechanics to help me develop everything and keep it up to standard. Do you think you’ll be up to it?”

Reed handed Jo what looked to Ben like several extremely complicated-looking blueprints and she thumbed through them carefully, her brow furrowed and her eyes squinting.

“Yeah, should be no problem,” said Jo and she handed them back to Reed. “Can you send me a copy of those? It’d probably be a good idea to study up on your toys beforehand; save any surprises.”

“O-of course.”

“Awesome!” she said, jumping off the bleachers and making her way back to her bike. “Call me with the details of everything when you can and I’ll get ready.”

All that said and done, she mounted her bike with the grace of a ballerina and took off down the track, clouds of brown dust blowing out behind her and hiding Jo Winter from view.


	2. The Deal

CHAPTER TWO

**The Deal**

Jo stared up at the epic, thirty-foot steel statue of Dr. Victor Von Doom that was in the process of being erected in the large courtyard of VDI Headquarters. Jo had to give the monstrosity its due – whoever had created it was a fantastic sculptor. The figure was detailed beyond anything Jo had seen: its face was chiselled and angular, the metal suit it wore expensive-looking, and its strong hands generously held out two intricately twined columns of DNA. It was perfect. 

“High, open space,” muttered Reed from beside her. “Exposed structural elements. Obviously aimed at first time visitors to create feelings of … smallness, inadequacy…”

Jo turned her attention to Reed and caught Ben’s eye as he did the same. It was clear that they were thinking along the same lines: _Are we gonna have to frogmarch the man into his own bloody meeting?_

“Good thing it ain’t working,” said Ben, calmly, and this seemed to do the trick. Reed smiled and led them both to the building’s front doors. But as if forgetting his show of support, Ben added, “Reed, what are we doing here? This guy’s fast-food, strip-mall science-”

“This wasn’t our first stop, in case you forgot NASA. And Victor’s not that bad. He’s just a little … larger than life.”

Jo raised an eyebrow at the silly pun Reed had made, but didn’t say anything. If Reed needed to make a couple of lame jokes to build up his nerve, then she wouldn’t stop him.

“He’s financed some of the biggest breakthroughs of this century!” he continued as they stepped through the revolving doorway.

“You’d never know it,” said Ben, and he gestured to the high-tech screens covering the crowded foyer they’d entered. Each one cycled through dramatic footage of VDI’s various accomplishments – a safe and clean nuclear facility, the first ever private space station – and each one displayed Victor front-and-centre, glad-handing the likes of George Bush, Tony Blair, and other shady international leaders. The last image they passed on the way to the reception area was of Victor holding the America’s Cup.

“Reed Richards to see–”

“Executive elevator,” said the receptionist sat on the far right of the long desk. “Top floor.”

* * *

The lights in the room had been dimmed for Reed’s presentation, and the bright holograms of stars and planets that hovered in the air made the room feel like a majestic portal into outer space. Reed stood amongst the holograms, speaking at a figure shrouded in shadows at the head of the room.

Looking around, Jo thought the executive office should have been a much more welcoming space with its woodwork panelling and soft furnishings, but the competitive energy that wound its way through the room had her on edge. Beside her, Ben did nothing to help the tension as he stood like a watch-dog, ready to defend his side if it showed sign of losing. 

“My research suggests that exposure to a high-energy cosmic storm born on solar winds might have triggered the evolution of early planetary life. In six weeks, another cloud with the same elemental profile will pass Earth’s orbit. A study in space could advance our knowledge about the structure if the human genome, and help cure countless diseases, extend human life–” The figure cleared his throat, uninterested in the aspects of Reed’s proposal that could improve humanity for all, but Reed persevered, “give kids the chance to be stronger, healthier, less prone to–”

“Turn it off.” The figure’s deep voice pierced through the darkness. “Please.”

“But I haven’t fully explained my–”

“Yes,” the man said. “You have … imagination. Creativity. Passion. Those were always your trademarks…”

The lights in the room suddenly brightened, and Jo squinted up at the figure: Victor Von Doom. He was a handsome man, commanding and decisive, but he had developed a cruel streak through his many years in business that he wasn’t afraid to show.

Victor dropped a magazine on the table, but from the back of the room, Jo could barely make-out the front cover. 

“But dreams don’t pay the bills, do they?” Victor said, delighting in giving Reed a condescending smile. “Same old Reed – the hopeless optimist. Still reaching for the stars with the world on your back.”

“You remember in school we talked about working together?” Reed was determined for his proposal to be heard. “That’s what I was about to explain–”

“So, it’s not my money you want,” said Victor, crossly. “It’s my toys … tell me, if NASA doesn’t trust you, why should I?”

Jo gasped. It felt as if the world had stopped. Reed turned to look back at her and Ben for reassurance, but they needed it themselves. No one knew how to respond and the room was now so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was obvious to Jo that Victor was revelling in the discomfort he had caused.

“That’s my job,” he continued. “To stay a step ahead. To know what other men don’t.”

“I can’t take this,” said Ben, and he turned to leave through the room’s large oak doorway.

“Ben,” said Jo, quickly resting her hand on his arm. Before she spoke again, she made sure to turn her head and look Victor in the eye. He may have the upper-hand, but it wouldn’t do Reed any good for Victor to think they were completely helpless. “This is business. Victor’s just done the sensible thing and researched his prospective partner.”

“Jo’s right, Ben,” came a silky female voice from the doorway Ben had just tried to leave through.

Everyone, apart from Victor, spun around in shock.

“I think you all know my Director of Genetic Research,” said Victor, pompously. “Susan Storm.”

“He really knows how to pull out all the stops, doesn’t he?” Jo whispered to Ben. She didn’t doubt that Victor had asked for Sue to enter the room at an opportune moment and throw Reed even further off of his game. But God, it was always good to see her. “Sue!”

“Hey, Susie!”

“Jo! Ben!” she said, giving them both a warm hug. “It’s been too long.”

Her loving smile dropped immediately as she came face-to-face with Reed, but still, she offered him a polite handshake.

“You’re – you’ve–” said Reed, absolutely tongue-tied. “I mean, how have you been?”

“Never better.”

“This isn’t going to be a problem, is it?” asked Victor, smiling smugly as he placed a hand on Sue’s shoulder.

“Not at all,” said Reed immediately, trying to save himself from further embarrassment.

Jo turned her eyes to the floor. She hoped she had been the only one to see Sue’s forced breezy attitude change to cold rage.

“Ancient history.”

“Good,” said Victor, letting go of Sue’s shoulder and strutting back around to the head of the table. “Then you’re just in time to hear the great Reed Richards ask me for help, Sue. You know, Reed, you made a lot of folks at MIT feel like a junior high science fair. So, you’ll excuse me if I savour the moment.”

“You back this mission,” said Reed, defiantly. Victor’s momentary focus on Sue had seemingly given him the chance to gather his wits together. “I’ll sign over a fair percentage of any applications or–”

“The number’s seventy-five,” said Victor, establishing his position swiftly. “And it’s applications and patents.”

“What about his first born?” asked Ben, stepping forward.

“The money’s not important,” said Reed, pushing Ben back gently. “We could save lives.”

“Twenty-five percent of a billion is enough to keep the lights on, isn’t it?” asked Victor, arrogantly. “Maybe even pay off your fourth mortgage on the Baxter Building … deal?”

Victor held his hand out to Reed, patiently waiting for him to accept his terms and shake on it.

Reed looked to Ben – who shook his head softly – and then to Jo, but she only shrugged her shoulders. This decision wasn’t hers. She could see his mind racing as he quickly weighed up the pros and cons in his head and in the end, he placed his hand confidently into Victor’s.

“Well, then,” said Victor. “To our future … together.”

At this, Victor placed an arm around Sue’s shoulders, the other holding firmly onto Reed’s. “Funny how things turn out, isn’t it?”

* * *

“He knew about NASA,” said Ben, as soon as they were out of earshot of the executive suite. “What if he made the call to shut us down?”

“Unlikely,” said Jo, pressing hard on the button to call the elevator. “NASA was probably a no-go from the beginning. You know they’re not willing to take on anything too experimental.”

She received two vastly different looks from the both of them: Reed smiled, thankful for her round-about support, and Ben just glared at her like he thought she was kidding herself.

“Think about all the people we can help if this works,” said Reed.

“Maybe you should think about yourself for once!” said Ben, finally erupting with what seemed to really be his issue with all of this. “You always let this guy push you around!”

There was a loud ding as the elevator arrived.

“We got what we wanted,” said Reed, stepping into the metal box and pressing the button for the ground floor. “That’s enough.”

“I know,” said Ben, standing down now that his true feelings had been heard. “I’m just worried about what _he_ wants … speaking of which–”

Sue stepped into the elevator and the doors shut behind her. It suddenly felt extremely cramped in here.


	3. Say Your Goodbyes

CHAPTER THREE

**Say Your Goodbyes**

“Are you sure about this, Reed?”

“The solar winds are flaring,” he began, oblivious to Sue’s true meaning. “But I’ve factored them into my coordinates and–”

“I was talking about us,” she snapped, glaring at the elevator doors, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “Working together.”

“Well, based on our history … you can handle the biogenetics and I’ll focus on the molecular physics … or maybe I should take the bio-tech and you work the microscopes since you have some background there…”

Everyone stared at him – even Sue, who was looking at him with disdain.

“Right, that’s exactly what I meant.”

Jo cringed. She had thought that some kind of conversation would make this seventy floor elevator ride much less awkward, but Sue and Reed had just cranked the dial up another hundred notches. Ben just rolled his eyes at the two of them, but Jo turned to stare at the metal wall next to her; perhaps if she couldn’t see anyone, she could pretend that none of this was really happening?

Thankfully, nothing more was said until the elevator reached the ground floor.

“So, when do we leave?” asked Ben.

“I’ll be scheduling the launch,” said Sue, pulling out a business card. She held it out towards Reed with a cold smile. “Call me in the morning to talk resources and crew.”

“I think I remember the number,” said Reed. It really was a bold attempt at seeming unaffected, thought Jo.

“It’s been changed.”

Reed’s jaw dropped and Sue stared him down, almost gloating, but he was determined to leave this conversation on equal footing.

“As far as crew, I was hoping Ben could pilot the mission and–”

“Oh, we already have a pilot on our payroll,” said Sue, suddenly smiling proudly. “You’re welcome to ride shotgun. You remember my brother Johnny?”

* * *

Jo hurried through the halls of the airbase, completely lost and her toolbox starting to weigh extremely heavy on her arms. Why hadn’t she taken up Sue’s offer to show her the way? She’d run up and down so many identical hallways by this point, she had no idea if she was even in the right part of the base anymore. Jo huffed and gave herself five more minutes to find the luggage area before she would jump on an intercom and contact Sue.

She trudged down some more of the plain white hallways (where _was_ everybody?), passing her toolbox from one hand to the other again and again. She flexed her aching hands and rubbed them against her new blue uniform when she could. She was glad she wasn’t the only crew member wandering around in the skin-tight suit. Jo hadn’t felt this awkward since she was fifteen and her mum had made her give an impromptu speech at her aunt’s second wedding. She’d never gotten over the feeling of eighty people staring at her while she stuttered out random platitudes for a very long five minutes, even knowing that they had all been too drunk to remember that she’d been there, let alone anything she’d said.

Thankfully, Sue had promised her some overalls that she could wear outside of the trip’s publicity events.

She was just about to give up her search when she passed by a small doorway and heard the buzzing sound of a zip. _That has to be it!_ She rushed to the entrance and saw a very familiar-looking, brawny man of around thirty years old packing some clothes into a large black suitcase. He was wearing the same blue suit as her.

Placing the toolbox on the ground, she reclined against the room’s doorframe and said, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the infamous Jonathan Storm. Not trying to smuggle a pretty lady in there, are you?”

The man jumped in surprise and quickly turned to see who had spoken. He grinned. “Why would I need to smuggle in a pretty lady when I’ve got you on my team.”

“Oh, you flatterer.”

Jo paused as she took him in. He looked taller than she remembered him being in their time together at NASA – more confident, somehow, even though you could never say he was shy – and he’d styled his hair into a short buzz instead of the old military cut. But his blue eyes still held that mischievous expression and longing for adventure that all the ladies loved. 

“Josie,” said Johnny, wrapping his arms around her in a great hug. “It’s been a long time.”

“The last time I saw you … Ben was kicking you out of NASA on your ass,” said Jo, smiling as she pulled back from Johnny, her hands resting on his shoulders while he held her waist.

“Six years and I’m still pissed about that; a couple more months and I could’ve been a CO myself.”

“I’m sure you deserved it,” said Jo, laughing as she took a step back. “But you’re a captain now! That’s brilliant!”

“Thank you, thank you,” said Johnny and he bowed swiftly. “And you! Sue told me you’ve been working freelance for a couple years? What you always wanted.”

“Yeah, it’s–”

“There you both are.” It was Sue. She had changed into her own suit and looked somewhat uncomfortable. Jo was glad she wasn’t the only person feeling awkward about the choice of uniform. “Victor wants to speak to all of us in the facility locker room. There’ll be time to catch up later.”

“You both go ahead,” said Johnny. “I just need to grab some things.”

Jo didn’t miss Sue’s raised eyebrows as they left the room. 

* * *

“I’m going to trust that my brother isn’t planning anything unprofessional,” said Sue, sighing as they strode down the corridor together. “Come on, let’s get you that flight-suit.”

“Thank God!” shouted Jo, flinging her arms around Sue’s shoulders as they walked down the hallway. But Jo had been a bit too energetic in her gratitude towards Sue and they both went tumbling to the ground. Laid out on the floor, the two of them looked at each other in shock for a moment and then burst out into laughter, tears in their eyes. Each time they thought they were over their laughing fit, they would look the other in the eye and erupt into hysterics all over again. It took longer than they had to spare of staring straight up at the ceiling in silence before they could trust themselves to speak.

“I’ve really missed you, Sue.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

* * *

The faculty locker room was an odd place. Whoever had designed the room had made some kind of attempt at making it as grand as the offices at VDI Headquarters, but the mahogany furnishings and plush seats clashed horrifically with the white plastic covering the walls.

Through the door, she could see that Reed hadn’t changed yet and was sat in one of the armchairs surrounded by his laptop and a mountain of paperwork. Ben was hunched over one of the lockers and Johnny was watching him with a gloating look that was eerily similar to his sister’s.

“I can handle the ship,” Ben was saying as he rummaged through his carry-on bag. “I can even handle Mr. Blonde Ambition. But I don’t know if I should be flying or playing Swan Lake in these suits.” He ripped out of his bag a larger version of the blue suits Jo and Sue were wearing and stared at it with absolute disgust. “Who the hell came up with them?”

“Victor did,” said Sue, making their presence known to the rest of the team. Feeling comfortable again now that she was covered up in what was essentially a grey jumpsuit, Jo threw herself into one of the available chairs and watched Sue as she picked up a blue suit that had been left on the back of another chair and held it up to the room. “The synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to your individual needs.”

“Wow,” said Reed, pushing his work aside and gawking at Sue in her skin-tight outfit. It was the first time in a long time that Jo had seen Sue direct a warm smile at Reed. He marched towards her, almost as if he was about to take her in his arms, but at the last second he turned and grabbed at the blue suit. “Fantastic. Material made from self-regulating unstable molecules. I’ve been working on a formula for this.”

“Great minds think alike,” said Sue. She threw one of the flight-suits into Reed’s face and walked further into the room, handing out the rest of them quite calmly.

“Guess some think faster than others,” said Victor’s voice from behind them. His brown-nosing PA stood just outside in the corridor, speaking furiously into the mouthpiece of his headset. Like some kind of predator, Victor didn’t take his eyes off of Sue as she moved about the room. “I hired _Armani_ to design the pattern. These colours will look great on camera.”

“They’re ready for you, sir,” said Leonard.

“Susan, make sure everyone is ready and in the press area in the next ten minutes,” said Victor. “It’s show time.”

* * *

“Our numbers are through the roof,” said Leonard. “The IPO’s tracking at fifty, sixty a share. The bank’s five times subscribed–”

“It’s not just the money,” said Victor. “I could make money in my sleep.”

“Then what is it?”

“History, Leonard,” said Victor. “History. Everything else is … conversation. How’s the other matter?”

“Harry Winston sends his regards.”

* * *

“I won’t need to buy any more food for Penny, will I?”

“No, I made sure to stock up on everything before I left,” said Jo.

She was currently on the phone to her mother and trusted dog-sitter. Jo had always been close with her mom, making time to call each week and have a chat about what was happening in their lives. But ever since her first mission into space with NASA, it had become a ritual for them both to have a last phone call before she boarded the spacecraft. It had started out as a stress-reliever for Jo. She was going into space! It was terrifying and she needed her mom’s support. But after each mission, Jo became less and less nervous about the ventures … still, her mom was her lucky charm, looking after her as well as her apartment and beautiful dog for as long as she was away.

“I’ve got such a terrible feeling about this, Josie.”

“You say that every time I go up there.”

“Do I?”

“Yes!”

“Well, you know how I worry,” she laughed, but there was an anxious pause before she said, “I love you.”

“I love you, mom. I’ll call you when I’m back.”

Jo hung the phone back up on its hook and hurried back to the press waiting area where the team had spent the last hour taking part in a slightly haphazard photo shoot. Wearing only their blue suits, they’d been poked and prodded and shoved into various positions while several assistants to the photographer had pranced around them with wind fans and light reflectors. Both Victor and Johnny had been in their element, the photographer frenziedly playing up to their confidence, but the rest of them had behaved like deer caught in headlights.

It wasn’t until the photographer had pulled Jo and Johnny aside for a few photos of just the two of them (“you two will be the eye-candy of the group; astronauts are so exciting! The readers will love it”) she’d been able to loosen up. Johnny had been brilliant, cracking jokes and encouraging her to dance with him until she’d been able to ignore the camera and just have fun.

Now, a large, flat-screen television hung up onto one of the walls had been switched on and was showing a large crowd of journalists and photographers baying to get a good shot of Victor. He’d left the room just before her impromptu photo shoot with Johnny.

Victor stood behind a podium, high above the audience, the holograms Reed had played in his proposal colouring the wall behind him.

“Today we stand in the edge of a new frontier,” said Victor, dramatically. “In the furthest depths of outer space, we will find the secrets to inner space. The final key to unlocking our genetic code lies in a cosmic storm.”

“Isn’t that your speech?” asked Jo.

Reed cleared his throat.

“He’s made a few changes.”

“This is your dream, Reed,” said Ben. “You should be the one up there.”

“Victor’s better at these things.”

“Ben!”

The three of them turned away from the TV screen to see Ben’s fiancée, Debbie, rushing towards them.

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to see you in time. I got off of work late and then it took ages to get through the security for the viewing platform…”

Ben quickly pulled Debbie to the side and began whispering in her ear, holding her hands up to his chest while she blushed and giggled. Reed and Jo spun back towards the TV, giving the couple their privacy, but they shared a smile as they did so – it was wonderful to see Ben so happy and in love.

“I’ll be watching over you.”

“Just get back soon, or I start looking for a new groom.”

“Soon as I’m back, I’m gonna trade that ring in for a bigger rock.”

“I don’t care about rocks, I care about _you_ ,” said Debbie. She rested her hand on Reed’s arm as she continued, “You bring him back in one piece, or you can forget being Best Man. Good luck – all of you.”

She gave Ben a final kiss on the lips and ran off toward the viewing area. He stared dreamily after her, until he noticed Jo biting down hard on her lip to keep from grinning as she stared fixedly at the TV. It was a rare thing to see Ben so soft – even rarer to see him smile – and he hated when people drew attention to the little happy emotions he did show … but him and Debbie were just too cute.

“What the hell are you smiling at? Just keep your mind on those SMBs–”

“Actually, the engines are SM _E_ s,” said Johnny’s voice as he walked by the three of them on his way to the spacecraft. “Hydrogen-base and carbon propellant – couple generations past your last ride.”

Jo had to bite down twice as hard on her lip to keep from laughing at Ben’s thunderstruck expression, but she could no longer hold in the smile that had been fighting its way through.

“Come on, you’re not really that stupid for not knowing … just some bad luck at using your brain.”

Jo snorted. She’d really forgotten how funny Johnny could be. He gave her a cheeky wink as he carried on by, ignoring Ben’s glare on his back.

She almost said something to try and placate Ben in some way, but as she opened her mouth, he turned back to the TV screen and muttered, “Shut it.”

“Think of a world without genetic flaws – no asthma, allergies, baldness, breast cancer,” said Victor, holding his palms out to the press. “Darwin discovered evolution. Now we – _I_ – will define it. Only in America could a little country boy from Latveria build one of the biggest companies in the world and truly reach the stars…” He paused dramatically. “Now if you’ll excuse me, history awaits.”

Every member of the press cheered as Victor left the conference room through a sliding door at the back of the stage.

“Come on, fellers,” said Jo. “That’s our cue; we’ve got work to do.”

She didn’t look back as she headed for the docking bay.


End file.
